Dark Souls (Crime Kings Book 1) Read online

  “My prize?” I question him. I have no fucking idea what he’s talking about, but my guess is he kidnapped a woman. One he must assume is mine. How he got that idea I have no clue.

  “Yeah, so let’s come to an agreement. If not, I’ll kill her. Slowly.” His voice takes a deadly turn. He’s certifiable and obviously did not do his research. “How about you say hello before we continue our negotiations?”

  I’m about to tell him he has nothing to use because I don’t have a woman when a voice comes over the line.

  “When I get out of these straps I’m going to kill you. Slowly,” a deep but feminine voice with an accent I can’t place comes over the line. Its strong and sultry. I’m captivated by it in a way I never knew possible, her bold words pleasing me. “And trust me when I say I’ll enjoy every second of it.” She sounds calm, not a hint of panic in her voice, but suddenly I find myself starting to because they have her. I try and talk to her when the leader takes the phone back.

  “She’s a wild tiger,” he chuckles.

  “What the fuck do you want?” I growl out.

  “For starters, how about those drugs you stole from my boys last week?”

  “Done.” Because at this point I would do anything to help this woman, my woman, apparently.

  “That was quick.” He laughs again. “I should’ve kidnapped her sooner and saved us all some trouble.”

  I growl again. “I want to see her in person, then we will negotiate. And if she’s harmed I will put a bullet in your head!” I yell. There is a long pause before he answers.

  “Fine, meet us at the east docks, bring the drugs and no army. One hour.” tells me then hangs up.

  “Damn it!” I slam my hand against the car door.

  “Lawson, what’s happening?” Nick sounds concerned.

  “Take me back to the warehouse, I have to pick up something.” I grab my phone and dial Liam. I need a plan. This might be the only opportunity to take these guys down and rescue my woman.

  Chapter 3

  Lawson

  “So, who is this woman?” Liam asks. We picked up the drugs we stole from them last week and are heading to the docks.

  “No idea, but we’re saving her. No harm will come to her,” I growl out. My response causes Liam to raise an eyebrow. “What?” I snap out.

  “I’ve never seen you like this, and for a woman you don’t even know,” he trails off. I know what he’s thinking. I’m acting totally crazy, but her voice did something to me, awakened parts that have been asleep. What I will be like once I lay eyes on her? God help me.

  “Let’s just get this over with. Are Owen and Levi in place?” I ask Liam.

  “Yeah, they’re waiting and armed to the teeth. Andrew is standing by with a sniper as well,” he informs me.

  “Nick, stay close and be ready to move.” I inform him while he pulls up to the ports.

  “Yes, boss.”

  “Here are the coms Andrew gave me.” Liam hands me one and I slip it in my ear.

  “You guys there?” I ask.

  I hear a collective “Yeah, boss.”

  “Okay, listen up. I don’t want this woman hurt. Got it?” I tell them.

  “Do we know who she is?” I hear Owen’s rumpled voice.

  “No idea. We’re moving in.” We get out of the car and I check my gun to make sure its ready to shoot. I grab the large duffle bag of coke we stole and head toward the dock along the port. I don’t see anyone yet, but I’m itching to kill these fuckers.

  I see a few figures walk from the alley of containers and come my direction. They are armed, gun at the ready, but so are we. There are four of them, and one has a gun to the woman’s head, her hands are tied. I can’t see her very well, it’s dark as hell out and the small lights are minimal. When they get closer I still can’t get a good look at her because a man, I assume the leader, blocks her.

  “Lawson,” the one guy calls out.

  I throw the bag forward. “Here’s your shit. Now release her,” I call out.

  He just shakes his head. “Where are your manners? You haven’t asked for my name yet.”

  “You don’t matter enough to know it,” I growl out.

  “Okay then, well, it’s Blade, and I’m going to kill your woman if you don’t agree to my terms.” He smiles at me. I almost laugh at his name. Really?

  “I’m not agreeing to shit. Take your drugs, give me my woman and leave with your lives,” I state in a deadly voice.

  Blade starts laughing and I grind my teeth in annoyance. “Andrew, do you have the shot?” I whisper into my com.

  “Yeah, boss,” he answers.

  “Levi, Owen?”

  “We’re locked and loaded, boss.”

  Blade grabs the woman and shoves her out front. She lands on her knees, hard. “Mamka mu. I’m going to kick the shit out of you when I’m free.” My ears perk up at the voice. It’s her that’s for sure. Deep, smooth, her accent sounding stronger now.

  “What the fuck?” Liam shouts from behind me. I turn to look at him and notice he’s staring at the woman in shock. “Cleo! What the hell?”

  “Cleo,” I say her name on my lips. But my mind goes straight to how the fuck does Liam know her!

  “Wait. Its Cleo?” I hear Levi.

  “How did this happen?” Owen asks.

  “Is she okay?” Andrew sounds concerned.

  Now I’m pissed. Who the fuck is this woman and why do all of my top men know her, and I don’t. “Shut up!” I snap at all of them.

  “Hey! You want her head or what?” Blade calls out, pressing his gun to her temple.

  I raise my own, planning to shoot the fucker for even touching her when Cleo moves like lightning. With her tied hands, she punches Blade right in the crotch, then grabs his gun as he keels over. His three men are taken out by my mine a second later. Cleo stands, aiming the gun at Blade then pulls back her leg and kicks him in the gut, then his face. You can hear him grunt and yelp in agony.

  “You piece of shit. I told you what I would do to you,” she hisses at him.

  I walk right up to her and pull her away from him. “Liam, take him to the box. I want him to pay for what he’s done. Keep him on ice.”

  “Sure, boss,” he replies but then goes to Cleo. “You okay? Did he hurt you?” I want to growl at the familiar tone in his voice.

  “I’m fine. Thanks, Liam.” She smiles at him. I haven’t seen her in detail yet but even in the dark I can tell she’s beautiful.

  “Now Liam,” I command. I see the rest of my men walking towards us. “Take him and the drugs. I’m moving Cleo to a safe place. They’ll want retaliation for this,” I tell them. Before they can say anything, I yank the gun from her and shove it into the waistband at the back of my pants then take her hand and drag her to my car.

  Nick is waiting for us, but I open the door for her and she gets in without question and I follow her. “Home, Nick.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I thought you were taking me to a safe house?” Cleo asks. I pull my knife from my boot and cut the zip ties off her. I run my hands over her wrists, rubbing the red marks left behind. God her skin is soft, and a olive color, sun-kissed. She yanks them away and slaps my hands. “Hello. I asked you a question.” Her voice gains my attention instantly.

  I look at her and smile. “Trust me, you’re safest with me,” I reassure her, and I mean it. What I don’t tell her is that she will never leave me either.

  Chapter 4

  Cleo

  Lawson.

  He’s the king of D.C. and technically my boss. I heard the drug bums talking. Lawson controls almost this whole damn state with underground dealings. From politicians to local loan sharks and everything in-between. He has power over them all. I’ve heard Fred and others talk about him, they always said if I was in trouble I could trust him. Of course, I wasn’t aware of who he was when they told me that.

  So, I decide that’s what I’m going to do. Trust him. We don’t talk during the whole rid
e, the air feels charged with something, though I don’t know with what. We finally pull up to what I guess is his home, but it looks more like a compound. We come to a stop and Lawson gets out, extending his hand towards me. I take it and he pulls me out.

  “Thanks, Nick.” He nods to the driver. We reach the front door and he punches in a code before unlocking it. Paranoid much. The inside is just as huge. Lawson flips on the front entrance light and I get my first good look of him. He’s tall and well-built with dark brown hair and warm brown eyes. He’s beautiful, if men could be. He seems shocked himself, staring at me just as closely as I am him.

  “You’re breathtaking,” he says in awe and I smile at him.

  “I look like a wreak. It’s been a long day and night,” I tell him.

  He frowns and walks up to me, gently touching my temple. I almost forgot I hit my head when I was taken. I guess adrenaline helped block the pain. “I should have prolonged their deaths,” he says regretfully.

  I grab his wrist and gently pull it away from my head. “I would really like to shower and go to sleep,” I tell him. He just stares at me again, his eyes pouring into mine.

  That seems to get him out of his trance. “Yes, let’s do that. We can talk more tomorrow.”

  He takes my hand and guides me upstairs. His hands are rough and well used but they fit perfectly in mine. We enter through double doors to a large bedroom. Lawson lets go of my hand and pulls out a T-shirt and pair of boxers from a drawer.

  “Here are some clothes you can change into; the bathroom is through that door and there’s fresh towels inside.”

  “Thanks,” I tell him honestly.

  He smiles at me, its sweet, kind, and nothing like his demeanor before. “You’ll sleep here,” he says with a gesture to the bed. I know it’s a command and I won’t deny him. It looks super comfortable. “I’ll be in my office downstairs if you need me.” I nod, but he just stands there and continues to stare at me.

  “You going stand there all night or let me shower,” I playfully snap at him.

  He chuckles before saying, “Right. Goodnight then.”

  “Goodnight.”

  He leaves and I make my way to the bathroom. As with everything in this house its large and has one of the biggest tubs I‘ve ever seen in my life. I start the water and look in the mirror. God, do I look like hell. My hair is a mess, I have dirt on my face, and a bruise on my temple. I lucked out that it didn’t split open. A few minutes later I sink into the luxurious tub and I know I’ve never felt so relaxed. Believe it or not tonight’s events haven’t been the worst I’ve experienced in my life. It’s actually quite mild compared to some stuff I’ve seen.

  After soaking for way too long and cleaning myself, I reluctantly get out and dry off before slipping on the clothes Lawson gave me. I crawl into bed and lay down, moaning at the comfort. I could definitely get used to this. Within minutes I feel myself fall asleep, and before I know it, I’m out.

  I slowly wake up to a buzzing sound going off repeatedly. I open my eyes and suddenly release the heavy arm wrapped around me. Lawson. I should be annoyed he crawled in here with me but that’s reserved for the noise that woke me up.

  “Hey, your phone is going off,” I mumble, still half-asleep. I feel him snuggle closer, his warm breath on my neck. I wiggle trying to wake him up, but he lets out a low groan, and I feel his erection grow against my back side. “Lawson. Get the phone,” I try once more. I elbow him in the side making him grunt. He rolls over, still holding me in his arms and answers it.

  “What?” He snaps in a tired voice. He’s lying on his back now and I turn in his arms and lay my head on his chest. I’m still exhausted.

  “She’s fine. We were sleeping,” he growls. “Come by the house in a few hours.” And then he hangs up.

  “You’re not a morning person,” I state the obvious. I feel completely safe, even though I don’t know him well.

  “I don’t like being woken up,” he grumbles and embraces me again. I’m about to fall back asleep when he asks me a question.

  “How do you know my men?”

  I keep my eyes closed as I answer. “They’re all regulars at Father’s.”

  “Do you work there?” He asks.

  “Fred hired me six months ago to do the books. I also rent the upstairs apartment.” I reply and pull back to glance at him. “He never told you?”

  He seems to be lost while watching me. I don’t know why but I like him looking at me like this, as if he’s in awe. He reaches out and tucks my hair behind my ear. “He said he hired a numbers person, but wasn’t specific.” He pauses for a second. “They jumped you outside the bar?” He asks.

  “Yeah, I was hanging out with Liam and the guys after work and they got me when I was heading up to my apartment.” His eyes narrow at my statement.

  “What?”

  “What’s between you and my men? Have you slept with one of them?” He growls at me.

  I kick him in the leg, hard, and he grunts in response. “Not that it’s any of your business but no, I haven’t. We are all just friends, and hang out a lot. They are all very nice men.”

  “I don’t like you being familiar with them.”

  “Tough,” I state simply before laying my head back on his chest to try to fall asleep again.

  “Tell me,” he whispers, brushing his nose along my hair line, smelling me.

  “Tell you what?” I ask with a yawn.

  “Everything about you.”

  “If you let me sleep a few more hours I will, but if you don’t then I will kill you with my bare hands,” I grumble.

  He chuckles and kisses my hairline. “Get some sleep.”

  Chapter 5

  Lawson

  “And that’s how you ended up in Washington?” I ask, still shocked and amazed at her life story. She survived the streets of Bulgaria, a gang, and again the streets here in the states. She’s a survivor, strong, and a perfect Queen for my underground kingdom.

  “Yeah, and then Fred gave me a job,” she says as she sips her coffee. We just finished breakfast. Well, more like brunch at this point in the day.

  She’s so beautiful, I can’t seem to take my eyes off her, but I sense a darkness in her. One that comes from years of a hard life, seeing things that changed her. She’ll never experience that again though , she’ll sit on the throne with me and have everything she could possibly want in life.

  “What about you?” She asks me suddenly.

  I give her a little smirk. “Textbook crime family. My family has been in the underground world for many generations, my great-great grandfather became boss, and leadership has been passed down through the men ever since. I took over ten years ago after my father passed,” I say, giving her a brief rundown.

  She leans forward and looks at me closely. “Sons of the boss always have to fight twice as hard to prove themselves.”

  I nod. “And I did, and now everyone either respects me or is scared of me.”

  “Modest.” She smiles and winks at me, making me chuckle. She does that a lot, something I haven’t ever done in the past. “So, what’s next?”

  I let out a sigh. “Like I said before, you need to be kept safe because they’ll want revenge. I still don’t get why they thought you were my woman.” Even though she is now, she wasn’t when they took her.

  “I heard them talking. Apparently, you’ve never been seen with one, not even a whore. So, they assumed the woman living above a business you own and hanging out with the top ranked men in your crew must mean something to you,” she explains. “Not interested in women?”

  I just shake my head. “I’m too busy, plus, I have very high standards.” I wink causing her to smile and shake her head at me.

  I hear the buzz for the front gate, so I get up and check the security cameras. Seeing Liam and the others, I let them in.

  “My men are here,” I tell Cleo.

  “Oh good. I want to thank them.” she stands and puts her mug in the sink.

/>   All of a sudden, Fred bursts through the front door and heads straight to Cleo, engulfing her in a hug.

  “Oh, my poor dear, I’m so sorry this happened to you. I should have walked you to your door. Are you hurt? What can I do?” Fred’s talking like a wild man.

  “Shhhh Fred. I’m fine, just a bruise. It wasn’t your fault,” Cleo soothes him.

  Liam, Owen, Andrew, and Levi follow him.

  Liam all but pushes Fred out of the way and cups her face. “Oh god Cleo, I was scared. Are you sure you’re okay?” He’s using a sweet-sounding voice that pisses me off. I grab Cleo’s arm and tug her away while growling.

  “She’s fine. No need to touch her.”

  “I’m fine. Really.” Cleo reassures them.

  “Good. So, what now, boss?” Owen asks.

  “Let’s talk in the office.” I take Cleo’s hand and lead the way. My office is very large, it even has a huge table for meetings.

  After we’re all seated, Andrew jumps right in. “From what I dug up, it turns out Blade isn’t the leader of the Cracked Canaries, but the leader’s son. He goes by the name of Smith and he’s basically a ghost.”

  “And Blade?” I ask Liam.

  “He’s in a cell. Our men are watching him.” Liam states. “We also still have their drugs.”

  “What the fuck should we do with that, use it as leverage against Smith along with his son?” Owen asks.

  “Be on guard, but we’ll wait until he makes contact. The other members will want payback.” I tell them.

  “You should trade the drugs,” Cleo states. We all turn to look at her.

  “What do you mean?”

  She sits a little straighter going to full on business mode. “Well, I don’t know the full details, but I hear you’ve been having problems running cargo across Oregon.”

  I nod, letting her know she’s right.

  “Well, there’s a Mexican cartel there and they’re always looking for pure drugs like the Canaries sell, or a unique mix of it. Even ones that may be tainted are more valuable than money to them. Ask them to run your cargo in exchange for the drugs. Whoever is stopping you won’t do the same to a gang they’re on good terms with.” I just stare at her, she’s incredibly smart and has an obvious knowledge for this business. She impresses me immensely.